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San Gimignano | |
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Florence |
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Wake-up call at 6 AM. Need to have breakfast and meet the bus by 7:30. Breakfast was less appealing today. Super runny eggs, hard rolls, and terrible OJ for breakfast. I pretty much picked through it. No one is happy with the Sheraton. During breakfast a number of people were complaining. Began today’s tour with a group photo. Kathy picked a picturesque spot that overlooks the city of Florence, the Piazzale Michelangelo. |
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Our first stop in Florence was the Academy
Gallery. Had a short wait outside because the museum was having a staff
meeting. This gave Dave time to run and pick up an Espresso before going
in. The Academy Gallery is small in size, but worth the stop. We saw beautiful
pieces of sculpture by Michelangelo, including David. Another art work
that must be seen in person to really appreciate. From this point, our
city tour guide walked us through the streets of Florence. We stopped
in at the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, where we saw a clock that
ran backwards. It told time based on when the sun set. Next, we visited
the Church of San Croce where the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo are.
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| Once we wrapped up here, we were given free time for the afternoon. We stopped for a sandwich and at the Piazza San Croce. It was a beautiful day outside. Temperature was about 80 degrees. Dave was able to get several nice photos and I got in some shopping. . | |||
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Florence has great prices on gold and leather. Dave bought me 2 beautiful rings, one has my birthstone and the other is a band that has a very fine Florentine design. I also managed to talk him into getting a leather jacket for himself. I purchased a wallet. Palazzo Vecchio had some live sculptures, as well as, people playing guitar and singing. It was soon time to board the bus again. We dashed around madly trying to pick up our purchases and find the bus. | |
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After killing ourselves to make it there in time, we found that no one else was at the bus. Kathy showed up 15 minutes later with the group in tow. Not to worry, the street was lined with vendors (need I say more?).I picked up a couple of pretty shawls. They were only €7 a piece. I bartered for a beautiful lace fan and did pretty well. Everyone enjoyed their free time in Florence. Back at the hotel we had enough time to freshen up a little before we departed for dinner at a 9th century Tuscany castle called Castello Vicchiomaggio. | ||
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San Gimignano | |
